Israel’s Supreme court rules against Apartheid road

This was a good day in court, after more than 9 years Palestinians may get to use the 443 route – in five months time and providing the IDF adheres to the ruling.
 
Israel supreme court(Bagatz) accepted the plea of  25 Palestinian villages along route 443  to Jerusalem and ordered that they will be allowed to use it alongside Israelis.
 
Palestinians have been barred from using this major route since October 2000 due to what Israel called ‘security reasons’.
Route 443 links Jerusalem and the greater  Tel Aviv area, running partially through the West Bank.
 
Half of its length, the 14 kilometer stretch from the ‘Atarot checkpoint, north of Jerusalem, to the Maccabim checkpoint next to Maccabim-Reut, formerly was the main Palestinian traffic artery in the southern Ramallah District, passed through the centers of villages lying southwest of the city and served tens of thousands of Palestinians on their way between Ramallah and the villages.
 
The effect on  the villagers lives , according to Bagatz, was significant, and the IDF must find a solution to this situation in  5 months time. 

Using the 443 is crucial to the villagers. For many of them, this is the main roadway taking them to their farmland, which lies on both sides of the road, and is the primary access road to Ramallah, the commercial center on which the villagers rely for their livelihood, emergency services, social services, hospitals, and schools.
 

As a result of the prohibition, more than 100 small shops in villages along its route have closed, among them floor-tile establishments, flower shops, furniture stores, and restaurants further effecting the struggling livelihoods of the villagers

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